Steamy novel is set in the Himalayas, the site of Mr. Pachauri's controversial melting proclamations

Imagine
this. You've been caught at work in an exaggeration that has
put your organization's central campaign at jeopardy. Some are
calling for your resignation, but you're currently surviving on your
past accolades. So what do you do?

Well if you're
Rajendra Pachauri, the embattled Indian economist who chairs the UN
IPCC, you apparently write a raunchy novel. Pachauri has aired
to the public what has been occupying his spare time -- a tome of
sexual fantasies and frustrations entitled Return to Almora.
The book chronicles the adventures of a liberated climate expert
seeking love in the 1960s.

Obviously, Pachauri has freedom to
behave how he sees fit in his personal life. However, many are
critical of the public figure's decision to share his fantasies with
the public.

Moreover, they note that the book's titular
setting, Almora -- an Indian town in the province of Uttarakhand
that's nestled up against the Himalayan Mountains -- is particularly
ironic given Pachauri's recent trouble. Pachauri came under
fire several weeks ago when he was forced
to retract part of the IPCC's 2007 climate report, a
critical document that policy makers worldwide are using to shape
pending climate legislation and restrictions.

Pachauri
claimed in the document that the Himalayan glaciers could melt as
early as 2035, but that turned out to be pure speculation -- and
incorrect, at that. Scientists who are supportive of warming
theory admitted that even in their most pessimistic scenarios, the
glacier would last for a hundred or more years. It appears that
Pachauri pulled the figure literally out of thin air, and now it has
put him on thin ice.

So, perhaps it was not the wisest
decision for Pachauri to set his new novel in the Himalayas. Or
perhaps it's another bold move for a man who once suggested that the
world shun
meat to fight climate change.

One would hope,
though, that Pachauri at least penned a quality work, that would make
his gamble pay off, and the criticism he would surely receive worth
it. Unfortunately, Return to Almara is no
praiseworthy litany of lust, says romance novelist Kathy Lette.
Lette, whose own work has sold millions thanks to its refined raunch,
comments in a CNN interview,
"The sex scenes are so, so terrible. But in fact he is in
charge of climate change so it is just a lot of hot air."

Pachauri's
work does at least have major backing, though. The
multi-billionaire boss of India's largest energy company is launching
the book with Pachauri. And Pachauri also has company in the
circle of politicians turned romance novelists. Many famous
political figures worldwide have launched raunchy novels in the past,
including former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and late
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

In an effort to keep this entry
clean, we'll offer you a link to
Climate Audit's story on the topic, which includes an excerpt of the
work.